A Complex Masqurade
by Coy Serum
Summary: She was the perfect actress that could fool even the most perceptive of people. Yet with him she was unable to hide, he could see everything. With him she was laid bare and he could see every dirty flaw and sin that ever crossed her mind, and that was why she hated him. There was no way she could pretend to be perfect...But he didn't need her to be, Nightmare loved her regardless.


The loud and echoing applause of the audience nearly shook the theater. The massive chandeliers hanging over the audience swayed thanks to it, their crystal droplets clinking together, while the heavy light equipment just before the dark wood stage trembled and shook. The actors and actresses all bowed at the gracious applause smiles on their glowing faces as they observed the audience. One actress in particular could feel the dizzying sensation inside her head and felt almost drunk thanks to all of the excitement inside her. Her breathing was ragged as she took the warm and soft dress into her hands and spread it out somewhat so she could give a proper courtesy once again before a heavy red curtain swished in front of them, hiding the many players away from view. As soon as it did the smile fell from her face and she crossed her arms. "Well that was just great."

Another actress with a shock of bright red hair and large brown eyes shook her head. "You did a lovely job this time, Paige."

"I missed my lines, Cathy!" She began tracing her own jaw, her blue eyes narrowed somewhat. "I'm willing to bet Issac is going to come over here and-"

"He won't fire you." The woman went over to her and looped a long arm around Paige's thin waist. "Now let's get out of these dresses, I'm dying to go out and get a beer."

"Fine give me a minute."

She untangled herself from Cathy's grasp and walked across the back of the stage until she reached a pair of steps. Going down she went to a metal door and pushed it open, going straight into a long hallway that was dimly lit and filled with people ready to either meet the actors or actors who were going to their dressing rooms. Pushing past them she maneuvered herself through the crowd until she came upon a white door that her name painted on a polished bronze plaque. Twisting the knob she slid into the room and shut the door behind her. Sighing she locked the door and began undressing, the day beginning to take its toll as her body became heavy and a migraine began to take root in her head. Leaning against the wood paneled wall she began to slowly slid down, her red dress hiking up a bit as she did. When she was firmly sitting she brought her knees up to her chest and leaned her head against them. Her blonde hair shadowed her face, hiding the tears that began to leek from her eyes.

Paige was by no means stupid. She knew that Issac was going to be in here any minute and fire her. He had warned her so many times to be careful with remembering lines in scenes where she had to speak quickly and like a fool she forgot. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if it was a normal performance, but a prominent reviewer from New York City was supposed to be in the audience. This was her make it or break it performance and she had failed. A shuddering breath escaped her lips and her fingers curled themselves within the material of her dress. This was pathetic she refused to outright cry over something so small, after all she had been fired as an actress before, it was nothing new to her.

Raising her head she loosed her fingers from her clothes and began to rub the tears away. When she could no longer feel any liquid on her face she pushed herself back into a standing position and began to take off her dress. The red cloth hit the floor and Paige carefully stepped out of it before taking down a hanger from a metal rack next to her light wooded vanity and hung the dress on the hanger. As she was putting it back on the shelf a heavy knock could be heard at the door. "Paige, you in there?"

A sharp feeling of awareness went through her mind and her body began to tremble. However she yanked a fluffy white robe off a hanger and wrapped it around her body. When the rope around her waist was secured she pushed back some of her short blonde hair and went to the door. Gripping the knob she took a deep breath before opening the door revealing a tall man with a rugged face and a bald head. "Hello, Issac."

"Paige, I'll just cut to the chase with you-"

"I already know." She said with a shrug. "I'll get my things and be gone in a half hour."

The man blinked before he shook his head. "You always were a perceptive one, Paige. Pity that we have to let you go like this, but you have become a liability with the parts we assign you. Yet no matter what you are a very good actress just not the one we need."

"Well, every theater has a vision and not every actress can be part of it." She moved to close the door but Issac pushed it back open nearly causing the woman behind it to stumble backwards. "Yes?"

"...I hope that you being let go doesn't change anything..."

She flinched but kept her tone polite. "We've only been friends, you're the only one who thought of us as more...Unrequited love makes for lovely plays."

Shutting the door she then locked it the click sounding firm and resolute. Nodding to herself she took off the robe and began putting on her normal clothes, the whole time her dark green eyes were narrowed as she played back Issac's last words. What made him think that she would even consider being anything towards him after firing her? Was she just some cheap slut that he could call on whenever he had a fire in his pants?! Pulling her black long sleeve shirt over her head she gave it a sharp tug and then adjusted it onto her thin frame. She was never one that had a large chest. In fact she was perhaps far too thin for her own good, the long green skirt that she wore threatened to fall off of her if it wasn't for the wide leaf orange belt around her waist. Grabbing the brown coat off a hanger she pulled it on before picking up her black purse a sudden rush of nostalgia taking over the rage.

There were certainly things she would miss about this place...Her vanity with the old fashioned light bulbs around the mirror, the small glimpses of normality when she spoke to Cathy, and of course the bakery across the street. Sighing she unlocked then opened her door before turning out the light and shutting the door again for the last time. Walking out of the still somewhat crowded hallway she made it to a doorway that led into the main lobby. There was almost no one in here except the ticket girl behind the small counter and a janitor picking up the bits of paper and tickets that covered the dark red carpets. Passing them by she went to the double doors at the front and pushed against them, allowing herself to leave and letting her well made facade drop as tears once again went down her face.

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><p>Unlocking her apartment door Paige slipped inside the house and flipped on the light. Immediately the yellow light lit up her small flat revealing a twin sized bed shoved into the corner of the large space and a table not too far away from it with two chairs on either side of the circular metal surface. There was a calendar on the wall that had a picture of a rabbit munching on a carrot and a few family photos that showed Paige and two other people in various stages of life. A TV was anchored to a wall next to the bed and a table was under it that had a DVD player as well as a couple of books that were piled on top of each other creating a mess. Taking off her coat she hung it on a black coat rack beside the door and then went to take off her brown boots when she was finished. Moaning when both of her socked feet were finally free she went over to her bed and landed on it face first, the wool fibers of her quilt making her face itchy. "I could just die..."<p>

Flipping onto her back she stared up at the patched ceiling, her eyes following along the many cracks and dips that were rather unnatural. The monotonous task soon had her eyes growing heavy and her breathing slow and before she knew it her eyes were shut. Sleep was something she never got enough of with all the practice and work she had to do in he theater. In fact she normally had to cake an unsettling amount of makeup under her eyes thanks to the dark circles that were usually under her eyes. But something that was rarer than sleep happened to be dreams...

While Paige slept her mind plunged in a world of dreams. There she saw a white rabbit hop down a deck of floating playing cards, all of them red and all of them the suite of hearts. Despite the stupidity of all of this she followed after it, but no matter how fast she ran she could never catch up. Just when the creature turned down a bend she lost her footing and fell into the never ending darkness below her, but she felt so calm about this that when she finally fell into a gray mist she didn't even question how she didn't splatter into thousands of meaty pieces or why her skull hadn't let out all the blood in her body.

However as soon as she entered into the gray mist her eyes opened and instead of the fog she was staring at her ugly ceiling. Blinking she put a hand over her eyes and covered them for a moment before removing them again. The ugly ceiling still remained. That dream had been so real she was almost sure that it had happened, as preposterous as that sounded, and that she had only awoken here after leaving that mist. Sighing she sat up and felt her back pop in a number of places. Rubbing her jaw she stood up and went to a side of the room that had a tiny tile counter set up with a white refrigerator set up next to it. Opening it she frowned as she saw only a few bottles of energy drinks and a left over pepperoni pizza. Taking a slice she went over to the tile counter and plopped the slice of pizza on a plate laying there. Picking up the plastic thing she scooted over to her white microwave and opened up the door. Putting the plate inside she shut it again before putting in a few numbers and then clicking the start button. The thing whirled to life with a loud whirring sound and Paige let it be while she went back to her fridge to take out an energy drink.

As she did a loud knock could be heard from the door. Shutting the fridge she kept the drink in hand as she went to answer the door. pon opening it she was surprised to find her neighbor, an elderly man with hair so white it could be mistaken or snow.

"Ms. Ericson I believe this," He held up a white rabbit with rose red eyes and tiny clothes that were typically on dogs "belongs to you?"

"No sir, I don't own any pets."

"Neither does my granddaughter, she's allergic to this damn thing. Sneezing up a storm in her room."

Paige gripped the doorknob a little harder. "I'm sorry sir, but the rabbit doesn't belong to me so-"

"Just take it to the pound or something." He put a hand in his jean's pocket and hauled out a crumpled twenty dollar bill. "I don't need my little Amy to get sick again if its loose in this apartment complex."

Seeing as how she was out of a job she really could use the money. Rent would be due in a week and her refrigerator was practically empty. Of course there was also her internet that would be cut out and her lights...not to mention the water...

Taking the money she put it in her skirt pocket before carefully taking the rabbit from her neighbor. "I'll get him away, Mr. Watanabe."

He grunted and went back down the hall, leaving Paige alone with the small animal. Shutting her door with her foot she examined the tiny creature in her arms with a tilted head. He was rather soft and smooth almost like those fancy scarves Cathy liked to buy. His fur was a soft white that reminded her of eggshells and only helped make his rose red eyes that much more intoxicating. "What to do with you?"

The pound probably wouldn't take a rabbit, even if it was clearly a pet at some point. perhaps she should just let it free in the park and hope someone would take mercy on it? That idea really did sound the best and wouldn't take nearly as much taxi fare as if she went all the way to the pound. Nodding to herself she put the rabbit and her drink on the table and began stripping herself of her clothes from the day before and pulled on a casual pair of jeans and a dark green tank top before slipping her feet into a pair of black flip flops.

Taking her keys out of her purse she put them in her pocket before grabbing the rabbit and heading out the door. Going through the long hallway she took a sharp right and went down a flight of stairs to get to the next hallway. Repeating this process two more times she managed to get to the lobby. It wasn't that amazing just a room that had light wood floors and a few black plastic chairs pushed against the white walls. There was also a bright red soda machine but it was currently out of order.

Going through the door she was greeted by the warmth of the early fall sun. It was fairly warm today but she knew that by the time the sun came down she would need a jacket. Pulling the rabbit closer to her chest she went down the crowded sidewalk, deciding to go straight to a small park that was only a few blocks away. The whole while she absorbed the city sights that she would typically have to hurry through to get to the theater. The honks from the cars, kids running around and jaywalking, people from the newspaper stands calling out their sales. They were all things that she lived with but typically ignored.

Crossing a busy street she managed to get to the next gum laden sidewalk and made a right to go past a white picket fence that was the entrance of the park. It was a small one that was mostly grass, a red and blue jungle gym, and a set of bright yellow swings attached to long chains. A few kids ran around while a couple of mothers and fathers sat a the only two picnic tables that the park had to offer. Going over to a tall oak tree she bent down and set down the rabbit. "Better hope someone takes pity on you before a hawk gobbles you up."

The rabbit's long ears twitched but it didn't move. Sighing she nudged it with her foot in the general direction of the swings, but it remained exactly where it was as if it had no intention of leaving. Shrugging she turned around and began to walk back to the park entrance.

This is where our story begins. It begins with an act of selfish kindness and our dear protagonist, Paige, falling head first into a hole.

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><p><strong><em>Since this is my first story I suppose I should explain a few things. First, I hate reading Author's notes that are at the beginning of the story, especially ones that are rarely updated. Second, I never ask for people to review or I won't update. I personally don't give a damn if you review or not. Of course if you do I'd be pretty damn grateful. Finally, I do not for any reason do requests within multi-chapter stories so don't ask.<em>**

**_And that's pretty much it. So go put your own two cents into the review box or just click out with a good opinion of the story. _**


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